Daily Tech Headlines – February 12, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – February 12, 2018 | |
| Number | 436 |
| Broadcast Date | FEBRUARY 12, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:21 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Apple changes iOS development cycle, Android may work with phones that have notches and Facebook getting less popular with younger users.
Headlines
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says his sources say Apple will change development of iOS to a two year cycle. While still updating the operating system yearly, developers will have the freedom to push back features that aren't ready-- to the second year of the cycle. The idea is to focus on quality and reliability over hitting a list of features. Gurman also says the next version of iOS will include the ability to run apps on macOS, and add animojis on iPad, meaning FaceID on iPad.
- According to Motherboard, an Apple intern was the source of leaked iOS 9 source code that appeared on GitHub last week. The code was originally given to a close group of five friends years ago but eventually leaked outside the group.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Mark Bergen report their sources say the next version of Android due later this year will include the ability to handle a notch in the screen, similar to the ones in the iPhone X and Essential phone. Android P will also let third-party apps use Google Assistant, promise better battery life, and support multiple screens and foldable displays.
- Emarketer estimates Facebook usage among 12-17-year-olds in the US dropped 9.9 percent in 2017, or about 1.4 million users to a total of 12.1 million. eMarketer found Facebook lost about 2.8 million US users younger than 25 last year. The research firm estimates that decline will continue in 2018 though overall growth will rise for Facebook, thanks to growth in older demographics.
- Alibaba has reached a deal with Disney to provide the Youkou streaming service with the largest collection of Disney animation content in China. Youku reaches 580 million devices and gets about 1.2 billion views each day.
- Reuters sources say Amazon secretly acquired the maker of Blink home security cameras late last year in a deal worth $90 million. Amazon supposedly hopes to use the acquisition to lower production costs and extend battery life of its devices like the Cloud Cam and Echo. Blink cameras claim to last two years on a pair of AA batteries. In addition, The Information has sources who tell it that Amazon is designing its own AI chips to improve its voice assistant. Amazon acquired chip designer Annapurna Labs in 2015.
- A Berlin regional court ruled Monday that Facebook's default settings for use of personal data did not adequately secure the informed consent of its users. Facebook said it would appeal the ruling and update its data protection guidelines and its terms of service so that they comply with new European Union-wide rules that are due to enter force in June.
- Airbus demonstrated its Skyways drone delivery service at the National University of Singapore. Skyways will launch a trial in the coming months letting students and faculty use it to send and receive packages weighing 2-4 kilograms within the campus grounds.
- The Opera News app that launched last month has reached 1 million users. It ranks number one in the Google Play store in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania, beating out apps like WhatsApp and Facebook. Opera announced in December its intention to focus on releasing new products in Africa first.
- Apple, LG and Valve are making a $10 million investment in eMagin, a company that makes OLED microdisplays for use in medical, industrial and military devices. The US-based company said it is making microdisplays for head-mounted devices for the companies. eMagin makes a 2K display with a resolution of 2,048 by 2,048 pixels and a 70 percent fill factor.
- Texthelp's Browsealoud website service for speech and translation was infected with malware that used website visitors processors to mine the cryptocurrency Monero. Texthelp took the service down about four hours after the infection began Sunday. Sites that used the plugin included the US Courts, the UK's National Health Service and Information Commissioner’s Office, and the Australian state governments for Victoria and Queensland.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – February 9, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – February 12, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – February 13, 2018" |